Nesheim Online Blog

Delegate ASAP when Birthing.

Experienced startup founders quickly hire and delegate to “executioners,” those special people able to execute the initial company plan. But first-timers remain stuck micromanaging everyone (“I am a focused on every detail.”), which leads to burnout of founder and failure of company.

Delegation is especially important during Birthing, the first Stage on the Startup Trail. There begins the process of breathing communal life into a company: “co” (together) + “pany” (bread) = people together breaking and sharing bread.

TIP: Set up 1:1 meetings weekly, stick to them, regardless of how crazy the week gets. Block your calendar. Set a rhythm that gets the heart of the company beating regularly. Delegate to gain control, to build from an idea to an energetic group of people eager to execute the plan with one another every day of your often wild startup week.

I wish you The Best on your Adventure!

JOHN

STARTUP BUILDER TIP OF THE DAY: 2019 Strength is Self Sufficiency

Get ready – 2019 is going to be a rough ride. Up and down.

Unpredictable month to month.  In spite of the amazing startups booming around the world.

Good news is a few will thrive. But a lot are overdue to disappear. Startup history will repeat itself.

It will happen globally. Apple’s China shock is a certain beginning. Venture investing by China’s firms has been overheated since mid-2018. More will come, soon, in all countries.

In the U.S. the politics of Washington D.C. is entering gridlock that signals the end of fiscal stimulus. Wall Street’s plunge has made consumers feel a lot less wealthy since Thanksgiving 2018. Angel investors are pulling back. Venture investors have turned cautious. Later stage CEOs will see valuations move to favor investors – you’ll see more down rounds in 2019.

Early stage founders are wise to prepare now how to survive with no new cash raised over the next 24 months. Cash flow burn rate is once again the prime metric for startup CEOs.

I wish you The Best on your Adventure!

JOHN

STARTUP BUILDER TIP OF THE DAY: Set one BIG goal.

Set one BIG goal.

 

 A goal that affects everyone in your company.

 

Be bold. Be realistic. Do it.

 

“Add 100 retail outlets in 90 days.”

“Start selling on both Amazon and Walmart.”

“Do a deal with Disney.”

“Double the units sold each month for six months.”

“Hire 50 outstanding employees over the next nine months.”

“Close on a $5 million round of financing from a top tier venture capital firm this year.”

 

Then, get everyone to sign up to do their part – including you.

And follow-up.

Hard work gets discouraging – people need encouragement.

Things go wrong – step in quickly to keep people on the right track.

Be transparent – starting with how you are doing with your part.

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I wish you The Best on your Adventure!

JOHN